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Saturday, January 18, 2014

Stuffed Flank Steak Pinwheels

Looking for something different to make with that flank steak that you found on sale? These stuffed flank steak pinwheels may be the ticket! You could probably stuff them with any of your favorite fillings, and you can certainly make them ahead of time and grill them when you get home. They are simple enough to make on a weeknight, but special enough to make for company. Don't you like when things are so versatile?

I bought two of these flank steaks. I'm not sure why. I just did. Then I thought, "Nah... I won't need that much." Then I got a text from my oldest, "Hey Mom, Trey is coming over to study for a chemistry test later; and he wants to know what you're cooking!" LOL!!!! So... I pulled out the other one and away we went! They were a little bit - okay, a lot - skeptical when they saw the filling, but the plates came back empty! Yay! A success (for kids who made the gagging noise when the word spinach was mentioned)!

The flank steaks I buy come "rolled up." So unroll them, make some shallowcuts, and pound flat between two sheets of plastic wrap.

1.7 # beef flank steak

Pound between plastic wrap so the meat won't stick to your meat pounder. If you don't have a meat pounder, you could use a small heavy skillet, an empty wine bottle, or even a rolling pin. (??) But we use the meat pounder ALL the time. I highly recommend picking one up.

See how much larger it got when we pounded it out, versus the one on the left?

Spread them with the boursin cheese. For each flank steak, I used about 2/3 of a container of boursin each, but put as much as you wish. If you can't find boursin, you could use herbed goat cheese. They have about the same texture, creaminess and amount of tanginess.

Words can not begin to tell you how much I love this little girl! What a joy she is! She refused to even change from dance class to start cooking with me. (Afraid she was going to miss out!)

Season generously with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the cheese spread with the chopped baby spinach, then a nice healthy handful of sun dried tomatoes.

chopped baby spinach

sun dried tomatoes

Roll them up tightly, using the plastic wrap to help you. You can refrigerate at this point if you would like. Actually, having it rolled up for a longer period of time will help the pinwheels hold their shape even better.

When you are ready to cut them into pinwheels, remove the plastic wrap and place skewers in the meat about every 1" - 1 1/2" apart.

Cut equidistant between the skewers so each will be the same thickness. You want them to have the same cooking time. My recommendation is to leave the skewers in. I tried it both ways. The skewers helped to keep the pinwheels from unrolling during the cooking process. If need be, you can break the skewers off a just little larger than the meat if you need them to fit better in a grill pan. On a regular grill, you may not need to.

Look at all that yummy stuff!

Now be honest.... can you tell which ones Lovely Lily made, at four year old, and which ones I made? Nope! See! It's that EASY!!!

Yeah... I seasoned the cut sides as well. I'm not a fan of bland food. :)

I added some oil to my griddle and allowed it to get really, really hot before putting the meat on to sear. Grill each side 4 - 5 minutes for a medium doneness, longer if you want them more done. I also used my tongs to stand them "on end" to sear the edges. For the last couple of minutes on each side, I drizzled them with the Romano Basil Vinaigrette (I used Wishbone brand). This gave me a nice moist, tangy, silky finish on the meat. I think you could totally make these under your broiler as well if that is how you prefer to cook your steaks.

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The flank steaks I buy come "rolled
up." So unroll them, make some shallow cuts across the grain, and pound
flat between two sheets of plastic wrap.

Season generously with salt and pepper. Spread them with the boursin cheese. I used about 2/3 of a container on each, but put as much as you wish. Sprinkle the cheese spread with a nice healthy handful of sun dried tomatoes, then then the chopped baby spinach. Roll them up tightly, using the plastic wrap
to help you. You can refrigerate at this point if you would like.

When you are ready to cut them into pinwheels, place skewers in the meat about every 1" - 1 1/2" apart. Cut
equidistant between the skewers so each will be the same thickness.
You want them to have the same cooking time. My recommendation is to
leave the skewers in. I tried it both ways. The skewers helped to keep
the pinwheels from unrolling during the cooking process. If need be,
you can break the skewers off a just little larger than the meat if you
need them to fit better in a grill pan. On a grill, you may not need
to.

I added some oil to my griddle and allowed it to get really, really hot
before putting the meat on to sear. Grill each side 4 - 5 minutes for a
medium doneness, longer if you want them more done. I also used my
tongs to stand them "on end" to sear the edges. For the last couple of
minutes on each side, I drizzled them with the Romano Basil Vinaigrette
(I used Wishbone brand). This gave me a nice moist, tangy, silky finish
on the meat. I think you could totally make these under your broiler
as well if that is how you prefer to cook your steaks.

Here are a few options. Maybe these will help you think of other. I really think you need something acidic in there to give it a punch of flavor. You could try roasting your own tomatoes. (Buy some roma tomatoes, slice,drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and bake in a low oven until all liquid is evaporated and use those in your recipe. You would want to do that ahead of time, obviously. The staches in them enzymatically get converted to sugar and they are oh so sweet and delicious.. but still have the acidic component.) You could try sliced black olives. You could try jarred, roasted red peppers, which are both sweet and tangy at the same time. With the exception of the very salty black olives, if you use either of the other two options, make sure you season this layer well after adding, so the inside of your pinwheels will be just as tasty as the outside.

I've made this twice now as my bf is in love with this recipe! I've featured it on my blog where I try out ideas I find on pinterest. Check it out! https://iampinderella.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/yummy-stuffed-flank-steak/

About Me

I am a prototypical modern American mom. I am retired professor of Anatomy & Physiology at a private Christian University, and mother to four beautiful children (3 boys and 1 girl). I am also a food blogger, cookbook author, and have owned my own cafe. My background is a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience with emphasis on antioxidant research. My postdoctoral training was in human obesity and caloric restriction.

I grew up in South Louisiana where the best food in the world is routinely brought from the garden and the water, and put on the table. Everyone in my family of origin is a wonderful cook, so I guess it is just natural that I show my love to my family through food.

I love cooking and eating... and teaching my children the art and techniques of being in the kitchen. My mother taught me that there is always SOME part of the cooking process that even small children can help with...so my kids are indeed very familiar with the kitchen, the kitchen tools, use of homegrown herbs, etc.